What would the ideal redesigned Ranger be like?

Well, I have searched around on the Net and cannot find any concrete proof that Ford is working on a redesigned Ranger. It is my hope that Ford takes the eventual redesign as serious as Toyota did with the Tacoma and Nissan did with the Frontier. Additionally, maybe a Ford insider will see this and begin to understand how badly we need a new Ranger.

I would love to see a new line of 3-valve per cylinder engines with variable valve timing just like the 5.4L in the F-150. A nice strong I-4 and V-6, along with 5 or 6 speed automatics are needed in my opinion. Another thing I would like to see is Crew Cab models with a 6 foot bed option. Mid-sizing the Range will also be very important so it can compete with the larger Tacoma, Frontier, and Dakota.

Having all the safety features as standard equipment will be helpful too. 4-wheel disc breaks, 4-wheel ABS, side curtain air bags, stability control, HID headlights, etc.

After looking at all the thought and engineering Ford put into the new 2004 F-150 at http://www.thetruthabouttrucks.com, I can only hope they do the same with the Range. And for goodness&#146;s sake do it soon!

Comments

According to www.motortrend.com the Ranger will be redesigned in 2009: "2009 Ford Ranger: Redesign. Finally. Current model engineering dates back to the early '90s." Of course not sure how reliable this information is.

Definitely keep the reg cab 7'longbed option -- this is what drew me to the Ranger in the first place. Give it a more contemporary look both inside and out. Don't make it too much bigger; am personally happy with its size as is; if I wanted a larger truck would purchase a full-size. Instead of increasing the I4 power make the Ranger lighter-weight; its too heavy for a compact pickup IMO.

Keep the appearance package and make it available on the I4 again. Make it so the bedliner goes over the left and right sides of the bed. Add tie-down hooks to the outside of the bed, 3 or 4 per side. Restore the intrusion alarm option. Keep all the current options (5-speed manual transmission, leather-wrapped steering wheel, tilt steering wheel, carpeted floors/floormats, nice-looking cloth bench seats, 4-speaker radio, privacy glass, payload package, aluminum wheel option without having to supersize the wheels, etc.). It's a truck, make the full-size spare standard!

I think they should keep the Ranger smaller. If Ford wants a midsize, bring back the F100 badge. Nobody is making a true compact pickup anymore and I believe a lot of people who are occasional haulers or who don't need to pull a heavy trailer would be well satisfied with a compact.

ONE BIG ISSUE is fuel mileage. IMHO, a compact should get better than 20 around town and average well over 25 on the highway. With today's fuel prices that alone could be a strong selling point.

got a newspaper the other day and it had a page on the 2006 ranger. nice looking truck. i think if memory serves me right it has about 3-4 different engines available and some new stuff in and outside also.

I have a 2006 and it isn't much different then my 1998 was.Same boring motor with little power and hard on fuel. Ford has 200hp in the 3 liter Escape and 148 in the Ranger, which is a truck for hauling and pulling. The bucket seats are more comfortable then the bench was and the outside design is better looking. Other then the five speed automatic tranny, the rest is made up of the same old parts off the shelf. I really hope they do change them by 2009 when my lease is up, because i won't be getting an other one. I think they are still better then the Chevy and GMC models, but if Hyundai has their truck built by 2009 like they are talking about and the prices are low like their cars then Ford could be in big trouble. They haven't made up their mind to go mid-size or full size, so Ford had better hope they go full size so they won't lose too much more of the market to the Hyundai and Honda makes. If Ford doesn't improve as fast as some of the other companies are, then they could be in bigger trouble then GM.. is at the moment. :blush:

I have a 2005 Ford Ranger and to tell you the truth the only difference between the 2005 and 2006 Ford Rangers is the front grille and the fender flares. Everything else is the same. To give you another perspective I have a friend that has a 1996 Ford Ranger he replaced the front grille, rims, tires, and put a lift kit on it. The truck looks exactly like mine. How scary is that a truck that is 12 years older then mine and still looks the same.

If they ever redesign the Ranger I think that they should at least put a V-8 underneath the hood. I also think that they should make it possible to get the Tremor stereo inside an FX-4 package. Right now you have to decide do you want the kick-[non-permissible content removed] sound system or the kick-[non-permissible content removed] off road capability.

I looked at new Rangers from about 2000 thru 2005 and never replaced my 1994 4L Ext Cab STX because the new ones were not much different from my 94. And some of the things about my 94 were better. They have really screwed up how the bucket seats move forward and then will not 'remember' their previous setting. My 94 would do that, the 'tilt' was lost but the distance would return. New Rangers lose both settings. Dumb, dumb.

Dash and radio was just about the same, you could just get CD player was about only real difference.

The front of the XLT looks bad. Only the Edge (some other name in 2006) with body color bumper and grill is decent, and they never would put this on the XLT. And I didn't want the Edge raised look, rubber floor mats, and agressive tire tread design (noisy).

Never could bring myself to jump to a new one.

Finally sold my 94, got a huge price for it at 84,000 miles in great condition and bought a Honda Ridgeline. Only vehicle almost as ugly as the Chevy Avalanche (sp)! But it's a Honda - reliable, rides almost as well as our old Caddy Deville, drives great, full time 4wheel drive.

Ford has basically forgotten the Ranger. Just making money on the old design.

They renamed it the Sport for 2006 (Ford is releasing another vehicle (car-based SUV?) called the Edge).

... with body color bumper and grill is decent ...

Totally agree with you -- that's why I'm planning to have the front and rear bumpers and grille on my '06 XLT painted to look like the Edge, er, Sport (and will be adding the split-spoke aluminum wheels).

Dude, you sold the Ranger?!? Seems like you're the only one who has the answers to the questions on this board! Glad you like the Honda; didn't look at it myself as I was in the market for a regular cab.

Ford has basically forgotten the Ranger. Just making money on the old design.

Just on the radio today -- Ford announced they'll be closing the St. Paul plant (the factory where they make the Rangers) in 2008; will be introducing a new compact pickup in a few years.

Totally agree with you -- that's why I'm planning to have the front and rear bumpers and grille on my '06 XLT painted to look like the Edge, er, Sport (and will be adding the split-spoke aluminum wheels).

Yes, my 94 STX was originally a dark grey bumper and grill (I think) and one of the previous owners had painted it body color. Looked great. I loved the big STX strips also. It was Electric Candy Red or something like that and gold and red stripping. It was also 2 wheel drive. Lots of arguments on various boards about all STX's being 4wheel drive, but not true, mine was 2wheel. Had the window sticker. It had just about all the options on it, don't know what else, rather than 4x4, it could have had.

If Ford were to come out with a 4 or 6 cylinder diesel and keep it reasonably priced, I would consider buying another Ranger. Otherwise, I don't think I would get another Ranger, especially the 4 cylinder. I'm just not all that impressed with the fuel economy-I don't think I've ever topped 22mpg, despite what the window sticker claims.

I currently own a 92 3.0 Ranger STX. I bought it new, as I had the previous three Rangers I owned and liked.I would buy another if Ford would step up and put some thought into the next one and not just make it larger. the smaller Ranger fits my needs well. It is simple,very ruggedly built and not expensive to own or repair.I have seen some of the Brazilian Rangers ford produces and am quite impressed with the diesel engines available in them! I hope Ford wakes up and sees the value in using their global capabilities to bring new products to market that are durable and stylish. I do not see a point to a V8 Ranger. I would like to see the availability of a 7ft box supercab.The sportrack is the opposite of that idea! I have driven the rack and pinion steering Ranger and do not have any desire to see a return of I-beam front suspension,not that even the most thick headed engineer would advocate that dumb idea! Ford needs to dedicate people to Ranger development.I mean they need to eat sleep and drink Ranger!Honda does this with ALL vehicle lines.Ford did it on the first Taurus, made a huge splash with it and then let it die!They have dedicated staff for Mustang and F series. If they dont see a pattern in the failure or sucess within their own product lines, I just don't hold out much hope. F Series and Mustang have a strong customer loyalty that Ford has been able to write checks on FOR DECADES. I worked in a Ford dealership when talk was going around that the Mustang was soon to be ended,replaced by the Probe.People got angry! wrote letters! Ford listened,they did not change the Mustang(although sales of 5.0 stangs exploded!)but they did raise the price, about $1,200 bucks I recall. Can any of us see that happening in todays market? Not very likely.

To be more like the ranger of overseas, instead of taking toyota and nissans lead to make them bigger. I live in the city I don't need a full-size pickup of any size bigger then the rangers are right now. Bigger isn't always better. In the next generation what set for 2010 now I would love a 4-door ranger.

The title of this topic is IDEAL Ranger. My version? An extended cab full time all wheel drive with 6 foot box and... AT LEAST 40 MPG !!!! Oh come on, we all know it's possible if it wasn't for the greedy $^&^^&*(^)* :mad: (**(@( oil barrons!!!!!!!!!

They could design a supercab, fulltime awd thats gets 40mpgs. It would have an aluminum frame and a carbon fiber body, no air conditioning and a 4 cyl turbocharged engine.It would have a 300lb cargo capacity and NO towing capacity. It would cost around $130,000 and no-one would buy it.

I own a 2002 Superduty V-8 which gets 14.5 MPG on a good day with a tail wind. When gas hit $3/gal. I decided I might be able to financially justify getting a second truck. My 07 Ranger I-4 with manual tranny gets between 25 and 30, and thanks to a large down payment, I save enough on gas each month to cover the payments.

OK, my thoughts on re-designing the Ranger. I have never bought a truck based on appearance alone. Sure, it helps if I can stand to look at it, but I'm more interested in what it can do for me. A big selling point for the Ranger is its fuel economy. With gas prices staying high and promising to go up even more, Ford could make some major profits with a small diesel option. And by teaming up with a bio-diesel distributor, they could make some greenies very happy also.

I just read that Ford will continue the current Ranger through the 2010 model year, Then it's gone. I think Ford will service a vehicle for about three to five years past it's production and then rapidly obsolete or cut back on availability of service parts.

Hello All, I am a Retired Army Helicopter Pilot living in Belize Central America. I just bought a new 2008 Ford Ranger that you can't buy in the U.S. It is built by Ford/Mazda of Thailand. It has a 2.5 4cyl Turbo Diesel, 5spd man trans, a true four door Crew Cab. This just may be an insight of things to come. I'm getting about 27 -30 mpg on the hwy at 55 -60 mph. This is a full one ton pickup and I love it!!! You can look it up as 2008 Ford Ranger, Thailand. Or FORD/MAZDA Thailand.. I'll be driving up to Texas in 3-4 weeks. Am looking for a Bull Bar. This Ford Ranger is on a Mazda B4000 frame. As you may guess I'll have to bring extra fuel and oil filters with me as I'll be hard pressed to get them at my Ford Dealer. Yes....I'll FEEL like "the Lone Ranger"....

Well i think ford should drop in 3.5 lt v6 engine thats on the edge. And make it a bit wider. a 6 speed manual and auto trans. Other then that I think its a great truck. They should offer a crew cab like they offer here in mexico. And they need a new interior with better plastics

Hello, I call myself the Lone Ranger because when in the U.S. I feel like the Lone Ranger. I have a 2008 Ford/Mazda RANGER 2.5L Turbo Diesel, 4X4, 5 Speed, True four door Crew Cab rated as 3/4 ton. This Ranger, built by Ford/Mazda in Thailand is the perfect Ranger and is giving me 28-30 mpg driving between 55 and 60 mph. You can take a look at the following site. http://picasaweb.google.com/msjungle...rboDiesel2008# you are welcome to see and test drive as I am in Texas now and will be here for two to three more weeks. loneranger

just got a nice 2001 xlt super cab with 75ooo miles. can anyone till me where to get the options on this truck? I know it has towing pkg. ps ,pb cd. player.What comes with towing pkg? Have a 2009 catalog but salesmen at dealer said they made lots of changes. Always fun to get information on any car or truck you have. thanks for any help out there.